When the pieces were finally collected and laid out I realized I didn’t have anything long enough to make the border and straps. I ran into the living room of Querencia (Upaya’s resident house) and threw a little hissy fit. “This is a joke! I don’t have the materials, I don’t have enough time, I can’t do this!” The residents immediately scrambled off to hunt for suitable fabric. The discards in the Goodwill box just would not do. I considered, then rejected, Sally’s pants. Then Sienna came running with a big piece of cloth in her hands—her funky brown wrap skirt with little blue heart hand-sewn on the pocket. Made of pure hemp, how apropos for a BC girl. Rakusu lesson #1.

So it is coming together, stitch by stitch. More wabi-sabi than geometric perfection, the seams wobble a little, corners not quite square. I sew a seam, rip it out, start again. Chanting my refuges over each stitch: the buddha, the dharma, the sangha. I am, I learn, I depend.

“How’s your rakusu coming?” asks Roshi Joan, flying through the kitchen. “Great! Except for the part I measured wrong, and the bits I need to re-do, and the…” “Oh,” she says, cutting me off with a flap of her hand. “That’s just your mind.” And runs out the other door.

9 Responses to “Sewing my rakusu”

The requirements for making your rakusu from salvaged fabric scraps is wonderful. I’m sure that it will be a treasure and more meaningful to you. And beautiful! I honestly wish that I was required to make my rakusu that way. I’m going to ask my teacher about this. Please post a photo of you wearing the rakusu after your Jukai ceremony.

I loved what Joan said about your frustration about sewing it: “It’s just your mind.” I actually sit on the deck and observe my mind gently waving the palm branches. I’m sure that you are giving the sewing of your rakusu the same attention. I’ll be following your spiritual endeavors.

When I do what I call “Buddhist patchwork”- (as if I know!) – I start with one piece then ask, “What does it need?” Join that on, then again ask, “What does it need?” A colour, a texture, a strong bit, something with give. I open myself to the voice of the cloth. I find it an intuitive, surprising, beautiful process, but I also think everyone finds their own way.

Yes, and who showed up at Upaya this sesshin, but a wonderful rabbi from pittsburgh, who will also be taking jukai with me in march! This is his blog: http://www.rabbiwithoutwalls.org. He translated the matza cloth bit for me – it says ‘Levi”, as in, the tribe of Israel. Well at least it doesn’t man ‘made in China’ 😉

Ah, Carmen, how wonderful to have your rakusu composed of fabric imbued with such rich history of craftpersonship and love. I am reminded of the tradition of quilt-making that celebrates the cast-off pieces of fabric and creates something meaningful (like Heather’s earlier comment).
When I turned forty I invited 39 people to send me a swatch of fabric and, with my mother’s assistance, made a small quilt with the collection. One of the many delights of this experience was receiving the stories of the fabric that my friends and family had chosen. With the weave of these histories/herstories I could start to feel myself more present in the larger weave of my community. May it be so for you;
when you wear your rakusu may you feel the loving support of your tribe – offering a touchstone of support for your ongoing practice.

I’m working on a quilt right now. From making my own and this quilt I’ve learned that it doesn’t have to be perfect! We’re only perfect intrinsically. You must be learning much from your rakusu project. And that’s what it tends to provide… learning, insight. Wear it with it’s full meaning. I think of you often.

“Oh, that’s just your mind.”
Love that. It’s the perfect reminder for any of the kabillion occasions that arise on any day when there is an opinion, a fuss, or a snaggletoothed wish that life was unfolding somehow differently.

“Oh, that’s just your mind.”
I’m going to start using this as the seasoning for those moments of life apparently not quite square with my expectations or wishes, and see how it reflavors that soup.